Welcome to Siren
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Museum of Siren City, a place that documents the history of this luxurious city in the sky and all the notable figures who helped craft her into what she is today!" The tour guide smiled brightly from ear to ear, turning in a circle to display the various doors leading off to several different exhibits. He motioned everyone forward, guiding them into the first room which appeared to be full of hologram cells. They lined the walls, and a row ran down the center of the room as
well. "This is the city archive of famous figures. They recorded their history, generally, a few weeks before their deaths." To illustrate his point, the guide pressed a button for his tour group, and one of the hologram cells flickered on. A woman stood in the center, old and silver-haired, but looking cheerful and quite well. She stared beyond the crowd of people, not really looking at them, but at an invisible audience from the time of the recording. "Now if you all just want to wander a bit, you can listen to some of these founder stories in your own time. Whenever you're ready to progress to the next room, I'll be waiting to show you in, right over there."
A little girl glanced up at her mother, frowning. "I don't like our tour guide." Her mother shushed her, and the girl gave a huff. She walked up to the tour guide, staring at him through a fringe of bangs. "Who're the most famous women in relation to Siren's history?" Her question, seemingly simple, gave the man pause. He considered, tugging at the collar of his shirt before he led the way back to the first hologram cell.
"Well, kiddo, you'll wanna start with this one. Her name's Belladonna, and she's the first female who came into government power in Siren. Happened through a marriage, but once she took over, well..." He shrugged.
"The next one is over here." He pointed to a hologram cell on the right hand wall, three cells down. When they approached it, a woman with bright blonde hair appeared, grinning mischievously. "She's next...Took over the government for a while when her brothers went off to war, dealt with kidnappings and a corrupt council, then went and married the President of Kevran and became a joint ruler there." He pointed to the hologram cell right beside that one, pressing the button. A nearly identical blonde woman appeared, more refined in her features and less rough-around-the-edges. "And her daughter, who worked as a spy when rebels tried to take over Siren's government, and was integral in restoring the rightful government."
Finally the man led her to another hologram cell, pressing a button. A red-haired woman appeared, a look of mischief in her eyes. "This is another notable one. She worked as a secret operative in a council member's household, digging up evidence for corruption. Her efforts ended an illegal trade ring and prevented the blackmail of some of our foreign allies." He chuckled. "I think these ladies will be a suitable start to your search."
The little girl glanced up at him, smiling. "I hope so. Are there more powerful women, too?"
"A fair number, to be sure. Men still outnumber them, but a lot of women."
"Good. I want to learn all about them!" The child turned and headed back to the first hologram cell, pushing the button and leaning in to listen close. The silver-haired woman appeared for a third time. This time, when she began to speak, someone listened.
"My name is Belladonna Locren-Santiago."
Author's Note: Siren City is the cyberpunk backdrop to my retelling. All of the stories are interconnected as a series of foundation and city history stories of government officials, generally extremely high ranking. The stories themselves are various princess-related fairy tales. Beauty and the Beast is the first, followed by Princess Rosette, Princess Mayblossom, and finally the story about the Princess Who Pretended to Be a Boy (Fet-Fruners)! Each of these characters was the central figure in their story, and did things that were not necessarily typical of females - they went out adventuring or did rescuing instead of being rescued, though in many cases they have still managed to be the delicate lady.
Images:
Holographic Projector, Web Source: 3D Conceptual Design